This year I have tried something I haven’t done in the past. I’m reading through Psalms continuously.  Sometimes it’s a psalm a day. Sometimes it’s a psalm a day and then I forget for a few days and pick it back up, but in any case I’m trying to make it a normal part of my routine.

I’m not doing this as a “This year I shall read through Psalms continuously. So let it be written; so let it be done!”  vow.  There’s almost no chance I would stick to it if that was my motivation.

No, I’m doing this because I tend to fall back on a cold, explainable, factual “faith” without the constant reminder of what it means to be in relationship with God as Father, Jesus as brother, and the Spirit as comforter.

While reading Psalms, I’m constantly surprised at how differently David approaches God than I think most of us do.

David is real. He is always real. Whether is he is shouting for joy or wasting away from sorrow, he is completely transparent before God. He tells God when he thinks that he has been wronged. He praises God for all things.

But even more interesting, David is not bashful about telling God about the things that he (David) is doing right.  Read those verses I used at the beginning. That is just a small portion of the self-affirming language David uses in Psalm 26 and something you see all throughout the psalms.

On the other hand, David is equally transparent about his faults.

I think what we see in David is balance. David is able to take the thing he knows about God and the things he knows about himself and his relationship with God and balance those ideas. (as well as any fallen human can)

What are those things?

1. David sees God as powerful, sovereign, holy, omnipotent–God.
2. David knows that he has been welcomed by God into relationship with Himself.
3. David knows that he is a sinner with endless faults.
4. David knows that God has made him righteous.

Each of these things are clear in David’s prayers. Even when he says “God, I feel like you’ve let me down” he comes back to “But God, I know you will be faithful” to me. He is able to be honest about what he is doing right for the Lord because he is also honest about what he does wrong.

I think what most Christians lack is balance. We tend to see a number of attitudes in prayer that all represent a portion of the truth but lack balance.

For some, God is simply a buddy. A friend.  Those who view God this way tend to think of Him in very human terms and ascribe their own ideas to Him.

For some, God is eternal judge, nearly unreachable and always distant.  Those who view God this way tend to spend all of their time repenting, forgetting that God has made them clean by His Son.

For others, God is their personal guarantee. He is permission to sin. People who view God this way tend to abuse God’s grace (shall we sin more than grace may abound?) and most likely shield themselves from thoughts of God’s holiness and righteousness.  This is definitely reflected in their prayers. (Though we might ask ourselves whether a Christian who sins freely has actually been transformed by Christ)

In truth, each of us has probably approached God with one of these attitudes at one time or another, and that is not completely wrong. God is our friend. He is our judge. He is our personal guarantee (but not permission to sin!)

In each case we are not seeing all of God. (Not that any of us can ever truly understand God) We are choosing the aspect of God that we are able to believe the easiest.

David is able to say “I have walked in righteousness” because He knows God has justified him. David is able to say “His anger is but for a moment, and his favor for a lifetime” because he has experienced both.  David is able to worship God, face bowed to the ground, because David understands his own insignificance compared to God. (What is man that you are mindful of him?) But by the same token, David is able to proclaim loudly that he has been accepted by this same God.

So, since practical life questions are always a great way to summarize information, I’ll leave you with this ponderable:

What would your prayer life look like if you were able to rightly esteem your God in His terrifying holiness and His unthinkable grace?